Background: Carbaryl is a carbamate insecticide widely used to control
pests in agriculture and farm. Carbaryl adversely affect the
reproductive endocrine systems in animals. Objective: The aim of this
study was to evaluate Carbaryl effects on the pituitary-gonad axis in
rats. Materials and Methods: In this experimental - analytical study,
60 adult male rats were divided into four equal groups: control, sham
and experimental (1 and 2) groups that received 10 and 30 mg/kg
Carbaryl via intraperitoneally injection. The sham group was subjected
to intraperitoneally injection with olive oil while the control group
did not receive any injection. Animals were sacrificed 35 days after
the last treatment. Tissue sections were prepared from testes to
investigate possible changes occurring in spermatogenic and Leydig
cells. Blood samples were collected in which the levels of
testosterone, luteinizing hormones (LH) and follicle stimulating
hormone (FSH) were measured. Results: The results showed significant
reduction in testes weight (p=0.042) and seminiferous diameters
(p<0.001) within the experimental groups compared with control
group. Also, the number of germ cells, spermatocyts, spermatids and
Leydig cells on the testes of the experimental groups was significantly
decreased (p<0.001). Accordingly, significant decline in the
testosterone levels (p<0.001) and increase in LH and FSH levels were
observed (p<0.05). Conclusion: These results demonstrated that
Carbaryl has capacity to exert adverse effects on fertility. Therefore,
have to be taken to account in applying Carbaryl for any studies and or
commercial use
